To help the world of farming make the transition to a more sustainable model while simultaneously protecting resources and the natural environment and supporting the production of healthy food, Banque Populaire has set itself the goal of granting green loans for a total of €1 billion by 2024, i.e. 20% of all the professional agricultural loans awarded over the period. To enable farmers to successfully complete the agro-ecological transformation of their farms, Banque Populaire is making it easier for farmers to acquire the efficient equipment suited to their needs via a dedicated financing solution, Agrilismat Green, an integrated loan for all purchases of new or second-hand agricultural equipment eligible for the ‘agro-ecology transition’ stimulus plan launched by the French Ministry of Agriculture & Food.
In 2020, Natixis Investment Managers (NIM), Groupe BPCE’s asset management company with nearly €1.2 trillion in assets under management, adopted an ESG policy aligned with its multi-affiliate model, which allows each of its 22 affiliates to enjoy full autonomy over its investment strategy. This policy is fully consistent with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and shows that NIM expects its affiliates to make ESG considerations an integral part of their investment processes. As each affiliate has developed a distinct investment strategy and philosophy, there is considerable diversity in the ESG integration processes developed across the Group tailored as they are to each affiliate’s particular convictions, asset classes and customer preferences.
On September 1st, 2020, Groupe BPCE launched Ambition Durable (Sustainable Ambition), the first green bond for customers of the Banques Populaires and Caisses d’Epargne eager to give greater meaning to their savings. The money raised will finance the construction and renovation of low environmental-footprint buildings. This first bond issue was subsequently followed by a second. The Group chose a ‘Water and Ocean’ equity index as the performance driver for these first two green bond issues. In order to diversify this offering, the third Ambition Durable issue is pegged to a ‘Transatlantic Water & Oceans’ equity index, which includes European and North American stocks. These three issues, 100% Groupe BPCE and 100% responsible, had raised more than €1 billion at the end of August 2021.
In this way, Groupe BPCE is seeking to achieve the following goals:
Groupe BPCE aims to have 100% of Natixis Investment Managers’ affiliates sign the Principles for Responsible Investment by 2024.
3. Articles 8 and 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
